The vertical-housing wave in north Riyadh runs on two very different tracks. The first is large, well-known towers — Burj Rafal, the Avenues residential towers, Sky Gardens by Rafal — with names, heights and published specifications. The second is a far broader wave of mid-rise apartment towers going up across Al Qirawan, Al Yasmin and An Narjis, usually launched as numbered series carrying the developer’s name.
The second track is hard to document: towers sharing a name with sequential numbers, specifications published only in marketing material, and heights that are rarely announced. Yet it is the track people are actually searching when they look for new housing in the north of the capital.
This guide ranks the documented residential towers in Riyadh by height, then covers the broader wave that has not been documented yet.
Documented residential towers in Riyadh
| # | Tower | Height | Completed | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rafal Tower | 308 m | 2014 | Completed |
| 2 | Sky Gardens by Rafal | 213 m | 2022 | Completed |
| 3 | Burj DAMAC | 200 m | 2016 | Completed |
| 4 | Square Towers 1 (Al Murabba Tower 1) | 184 m | 2025 | Completed |
| 5 | The Avenues T3 | 180 m | 2026 | Under construction |
| 6 | Square Towers 2 (Al Murabba Tower 2) | 176 m | 2025 | Completed |
| 7 | ETLAL Residence | 165 m | 2022 | Completed |
| 8 | Canopy Tower | 160 m | 2026 | Under construction |
| 9 | Aramco Tower | 160 m | 2016 | Completed |
| 10 | Fairmont Ramla Serviced Residences | 150 m | 2023 | Completed |
The top: Burj Rafal and the major residential towers
Burj Rafal in Al Sahafa is the tallest residential tower in the Kingdom at 308 metres and roughly 70 floors, with 474 apartments alongside the JW Marriott hotel on its lower floors. Next comes the T3 residential tower at The Avenues at 180 metres with 242 apartments, then Canopy Tower, which combines hotel and apartments.
This tier shares one characteristic: housing attached to hotel or retail service — the model Riyadh has entrenched over the past decade, where a residential tower is part of a destination rather than a standalone building.
The broader wave: apartment-tower series in Al Qirawan and Al Yasmin
North of The Avenues, a repeating pattern appears on the map: series of residential towers sharing a name with sequential numbers — the Jude series and the Magna series in Al Qirawan, for example — each spanning several towers, adjacent or scattered across the district.
Individually these buildings are relatively small and do not reach skyscraper classification, but together they represent the bulk of new vertical housing supply in north Riyadh. Their specifications are rarely published outside marketing material and their heights are usually unannounced, which is why they do not appear in the ranking above.
We add these towers to the database as documented specifications become available from a source that can be relied on — not from marketing material alone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the tallest residential tower in Riyadh?
Burj Rafal in Al Sahafa at 308 metres and roughly 70 floors — also the tallest residential tower in the Kingdom.
Why do the Jude and Magna towers not appear in the ranking?
Because their specifications — particularly their heights — have not been published in sources we can rely on. Any tower is added to the database as soon as documented data becomes available.
Where are the new residential towers concentrated in north Riyadh?
In the Al Qirawan, Al Yasmin, An Narjis and Al Sahafa districts, along King Fahd Road and King Salman Road and around The Avenues Riyadh.